Mark Nilsen - Biography

Mark Nilsen is that singular blend of artist/entrepreneur who thrives in New York. 

For years he was unable to make a living as an artist. But things have turned around since he has found a niche in the street art and architecture of the city’s sewer covers. 

He makes rubbings of them on location, kneeling and placing a square of canvas over the cover, then applying acrylic paint by roller so the colours take the raised detail of the cover. 

Mark has come to appreciate the fine points of his subject matter. There's the honeycomb, the weave, the wave. And the street setting, whether cobblestone, hexagonal brick or even asphalt, which lends texture to the final work. 

No two sewer caps are alike; each one is different. They're really serial sculptures, and each one has a very different feel when you paint them. Actually, you can paint the same one and it will never come out the same. Some caps still have imprints from the wood molds used to cast them. 

His fascination for recording the art of the city has led him to cities around the world including New Orleans, Paris, Mexico, Dresden and Dublin. This latest collection of works was created in Dublin in February 2007 and captures the coal holes of the city’s famous Georgian Squares and a stunning street memorial on the city’s north side. 

Within the past year Mark Nilsen has been to various places and painted many marvelous street structures, utility covers, tree and subway grates, the ironwork from gates, bridges and lamp posts, architectural stone reliefs, even concrete graffiti á la "Atom loves Rosa" in the sidewalk. His paintings encompass a wide array of size and color. 

As diverse as Nilsen's work is his audience. His art is hanging in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Russia, throughout the European Union and the United States. Buyers are all kinds of different people, ranging from a kid who wants a manhole cover on his drums to an art collector from Paris. 

This Collection of street art was completed on Mark’s first visit to Ireland in February 2007. One of the pieces completed on that trip hangs in the government office of Irish Senator David Norris, a leading member of the Irish Georgian Society and an indispensible guide in locating the city’s intricate Georgian Coal Holes.